One method that a consignee may use in order to pay for the shipment of goods received from a shipper (e.g., a consignor) is to provide the payment to the carrier responsible for delivering the shipment (e.g., UPS, FedEx, the United States Postal Service (USPS)) at the time of delivery. In addition to enabling customers to order goods without providing private credit card information to the shipper, this method, sometimes referred to as Collect on Delivery (COD), may provide somewhat of a compromise between the shippers and the consignees, whereby the shipper may desire to be paid as soon as possible, while the consignee may desire to delay payment as long as possible.
A need exists for a method of improving the COD process in a way that maintains this compromise yet enables shippers to simplify their accounts receivable process and post payments faster.